


Let's Hope This Goes Swimmingly

by notmyyacht



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Established Relationship, Family Reunions, Fluff, M/M, Sonny has a Homophobic Douchey Cousin, but there's also a lot of, post-Surrendering Noah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 03:40:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4004458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notmyyacht/pseuds/notmyyacht
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sonny's family is having a family reunion and they want to meet the new boyfriend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Hope This Goes Swimmingly

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wordsinbetween](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsinbetween/gifts).



> Prompted by wordsinbetween: OTP attending a family reunion. 
> 
> This is unbeta'd so if there are any grammar mistakes, it's all on me. Enjoy!!

"And Dominick, please bring your boyfriend. I want to meet him."

"To the family reunion?"

"Yes! And if he's busy, tell him I insist."

Sonny does right to his mother's words and invites Barba to come to his family reunion.

"Aren't family reunions usually with family? If we were married or engaged, I'd understand..."

Sonny tries to ignore the fuzzy feeling that came with the thought of being married to Barba.

"Yeah, well, she wants to meet you. We've been together for a few months now, don't you think maybe it's time we took another step?"

"It's not the meeting your mother part that's bothering me, it's the possibility of give or take twenty other Carisis trying to talk to me all at once."

 

Barba eventually gives in and agrees to go.

On the drive to his aunt's house out in East Islip, Sonny goes over dos and don'ts with certain members of his family. Barba tries to keep them in mind as he keeps looking at himself in the mirror.

"I'm not sure about this pocket square," he mutters.

"Have you been listening to me?"

"Don't let Uncle Greg rope me into talking about republicans. I heard." He fidgets with the top button of his polo.

Sonny spares a glance from the road to quickly eye Barba's outfit. Similar to what he wore to Olivia's party a couple weeks prior; nice dark blue pants with a matching dark blue blazer with a light blue pocket square with pink lacing that matches the light blue polo shirt. Simple, but still Barba. Sonny almost felt a little silly wearing the same outfit he wore to Olivia's party. We can't all afford ten different two thousand dollar suits.

Sonny congratulates himself on being able to find a parking spot close to the house. He eyes the line of cars parked along the street and feels bad for his Aunt Patty's neighbors.

Barba is still playing with his pocket square when Sonny gets out of the car. He walks around the front to open the side door. Maybe if he's gentlemanly enough, Barba will forgive him for talking him into this. But Barba is out of the car before he can reach the handle. At least he's stopped fidgeting with his clothes.

There's a sign on the front door with an arrow directing them towards the open backyard gate.

They stop at the gate and Sonny turns to face him.

"You sure you're ready for this? Because we can go back now, if you want. Say we got stuck in traffic or one of us got sick. You know-"

"SONNY!"

Sonny's eyes go wide and he twists his body enough to look behind him. His Aunt Patty is waving at him. He smiles and waves back.

"Sorry, too late," he says through gritted teeth. Barba gives him an encouraging pat on the butt.  

"And I thought I was the nervous one here."

The backyard is closed off with a large white fence, but it's pretty open and grassy. There are tables moderately placed in and around the patio attached to the back of the house. Some people were sitting, others standing around in clumps and chatting. Off to the far left in an inground pool, mostly inhabited by  a couple of kids and three or so teenagers -Sonny's cousins if Barba remembered correctly.

"Aunt Patty, this is my..." Sonny clears his throat, "...boyfriend Rafael." God, that still sounds weird saying it out loud, not that Sonny has had many opportunities to.

Barba smiles and she pulls him in to kiss him on the cheek.

"Pleasure to meet you Rafael," she says with a toothy grin.

"And you."

Aunt Patty leaves them there on the grass to go greet another newcomer Sonny doesn't seem eager to speak to.

"This isn't so bad," Barba comments with a small smile.

About an hour later, Sonny and Barba are on opposite sides of the backyard. Sonny somehow allowed Uncle Greg to start talking politics with him, or rather _to_ him. At least Sonny has a beer that he can focus on instead. Barba was more lucky and managed to snag Bella into conversation. She's already starting to show and she can't stop talking about how well things are going with Tommy. Barba doesn't mind. It's nice seeing that things have gotten better since the trial. He also really likes Bella. She was the first to find out about him and her brother and was supportive right from the get-go.

Sonny mindlessly nods to whatever Uncle Greg is saying about the economy and glances over at his _boyfriend_. That really is a weird word to associate Barba to. It's June and he wonders if Barba is sweating under that blazer. Sonny's own sleeves are rolled up. Barba must be getting warm. And hot.

A hand clamping his shoulder drags him away from the beginnings of his fantasies.

"Hey Sonny! Long time, no see!"

Sonny turns his head to look up at his first cousin, who's grinning perfect teeth down at him.

"Hey Mike," he returns with less enthusiasm. Mike is the only one of his cousins that's older than him. Only by two years, but he's already settled in some money-making marketing job in Boston.

Mike slides into the plastic chair beside Sonny and for once Sonny wishes Uncle Greg was still talking to him about the economy. He's not even sure where the old goat wandered off.

"So you've probably heard," Mike starts, taking a sip of his own beer.

"No, actually I haven't. What is it?"

"Marie and I are breaking up."

 _Finally_ , Sonny thinks, _she deserves better_.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he says.

Mike nods calmly for a moment then a smile spreads across his face and he leans in.

"So, I heard you brought your own date. Where is she? I bet she's a hottie. Your last girl I met was a hottie. Sad when I heard you two broke up."

Sonny wasn't openly bi within his family. Only those he wanted to know knew, including his parents, sisters, and Aunt Patty who someone figured it out on her own when he was a teenager. Mike didn't know. Sonny didn't want Mike to know. Mike was one of the main reasons he didn't want to bring Barba to the reunion in the first place.

Suddenly Sonny wishes he could turn around and make sure Barba is still talking to Bella on the far side of the backyard.

Mike's crooked smile falters a moment when Sonny doesn't answer.

"She _is_ here, isn't she?" he prompts, hoping Sonny will just point her out in the crowd already. Sonny doesn't want to turn, doesn't want Mike to look at him.

"Hey Mike, how's it going?"

The sweet sound of Bella's voice cuts through the tension in the air and Sonny allows himself to breathe normally again. He doesn't turn to look at her standing behind him. A hand rests on his shoulder, too big to be Bella's. Bella brought Barba over here. Shit.

"Good, cos. How's Timmy?" Mike's voice, which Sonny can only describe as condescending, is steady and but curious.

"Tommy... and he's fine. We're fine."

"And who's this?" Mike stares at the hand Barba has gripped on Sonny's shoulder.

"Rafael Barba. I'm with Sonny." Sonny doesn't look at anybody as they talk. Instead he starts planning a hundred ways to get between Mike and Barba if a fight breaks out. He's never seen Barba in a physical fight and quite frankly does not want to. Especially not with his bench pressing cousin.

Barba, on the other hand, is staring Mike down with an intensity he would use in court. He didn't like what Bella told him about Cousin Mike and he mentally applauded Sonny for letting his mother convince him to ask Barba to come.

"Rafael, huh?" Mike's smile fades as he puts it together. His face twists in disgust and he scowls at Sonny.

"Really, Sonny? Fuckin' _really_? You're a fa-"

"Bet Marie left you for someone who can actually satisfy her in bed," Sonny cuts him off with a sneer, glaring at him. Mike's face twitches and he springs to his feet. Sonny stands too, making sure that Mike is aware of the space he's purposefully occupying between him and Barba.

Sonny can feel Barba's eyes burning a hole in the back of his head. He won't make a move though. Not unless Mike makes one first.  Everybody is staring at them. Sonny doesn't care. He's done caring about what they think of him.

Mike does though. He smiles and takes a step back.

"Fine, Sonny. You win. But me? I ain't spending time with a family who welcomes garbage like you with open arms." Mike kicks his plastic chair, knocking it over. He storms toward the gate. A smug smile plays at Sonny's lips.

"Hey Mike! At least you were right about one thing! My date's a hottie!"

Mike practically tears the gate door off its hinges on his way out. With the bastard out of sight, Sonny whirls around and pulls Barba into a hug.

"That could have gone to shit," Bella says with a relieved half-smile.

 

The reunion continues on without any more drama. Barba is happy to see how welcoming the Carisis are. Almost as if Mike's departure lifted any sense of hesitation from the family's affections.

Sonny's mother finally gets a chance to speak one-on-one and introduce herself to him.

"You've made Dominick so happy. It's nice to see him with someone with a level head too. He lets his emotions run wild, instead of using his head. I should know, he gets that from me."

The other two sisters corner Sonny and start asking him questions about how he and Barba met and so forth.

One moment Sonny looks up and sees Barba talking with his father. That's a conversation that he's glad he won't have to listen to. A few minutes later and Barba is lost in the crowds. Sonny only hopes he doesn't mind the attention.

As the afternoon presses on, the June heat decides it's time to kick it up a notch. Sonny regrets the red sweater. He smirks to himself as he spots Barba's blazer hanging over the side of a chair. Looks like someone gave in.

That's when he spots Barba over by the pool with Sonny's little cousins Kim and Luke, nine year old twins.

"C'mon Rafael, play marco polo with us!" says Kim, all excited and tugging on Barba's wrist. Sonny would love to know how in the world Barba got mixed up with those kids.

Judging by the look on Barba's face, he is not planning on play marco polo with them. That doesn't seem to bother the kids. They've made a new friend and are determined to make him play with them.

Sonny shakes his head and proceeds to make his way over to the pool to rescue Barba.

"I don't think he's dressed for the pool," he laughs. A look of relief crosses Barba's face as he spots him coming closer. The kids use the opportune distraction and give one sharp tug on Barba's wrists.

Sonny wonders how much that outfit Barba spent so much time fidgeting with a few hours ago costs as it disappears under the surface of the water. Barba emerges a second later, sucking in oxygen and pushing his wet hair out of his face. The twins laugh and high-five each other.

"Now I'm _really_ not going to play marco polo with you!" Barba frowns and swims to the nearest side of the pool. Sonny rushes to his side to help him up. His bites his lip to keep from laughing.

"That wasn't funny," Barba grumbles, squeezing out the bottom of his shirt. The twins don't seem too bothered by Barba's decision, too amused that they got him into the water. Sonny had to give them credit, Barba looks good when he's all wet and grumpy.

Sonny grabs the nearest towel and wraps it around Barba's shoulders.

"Those children are evil."

Sonny chuckles and leans in to place a quick kiss to his lips.

The pool incident happens at almost perfect timing. Dinner is served and everybody is heading inside.

Barba looks at him, eyes tired. Sonny smiles and bounds up to his parents. Barba waits a moment then Sonny returns to his side.

"Told them we're going home a little early."

 

Aunt Patty insisted Barba take the towel with him for the ride home.

"Thank you for inviting me," he says, rubbing the towel through his damp hair. Sonny tries not to let the movement distract him from the road.

"Thank you for coming. Everybody loved you. Well, everybody but Mike. Mike can go fuck himself."

"I thought you were going to punch him in the face."

"I would have if he started something."

"He didn't."

"Kim and Luke sure did though," Sonny says, trying not to burst into a fit of giggles. Barba glares at him.

A comfortable silence sits between them. Barba breaks it after a while.

"Maybe we should have eaten before we left. That chocolate cake looked good."

Sonny smirks.

"Trust me, if it's like any other chocolate cake my Aunt makes, we're better off buying our own cake at the store."

"Sounds good to me."

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the title was a pun.


End file.
